Political spectacle…
Let’s see–President Bush lands on an aircraft carrier in a “fixed-wing aircraft”–that’s military talk for “airplane.” He hops out of it in full military flight suit looking every bit the dashing hero. The staging of this political spectacle was so well done that hardly anyone is questioning the reason behind, or the danger of, having a president land in such a fashion.
The reason is simple: He looked great doing it. And it made great TV.
In today’s media environment, it’s difficult to argue with a powerful image. Logos cannot drive out pathos.
Howard Kurtz this morning rounds up the speculation about the Democrats’ debate this Saturday in light of the President’s performance. I will analyze the President’s speech for Presidential Campaign Rhetoric 2004. Look for it soon.
UPDATE (11:00 a.m.): Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
That’s why he took the helmet off.
BTW: Anybody who’s watched J.A.G. for more than 3 episodes knows that removing your helmet on the flight deck is forbidden.